The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-09-16

brethren, We have done it to me-" In
picture galleries we have often seen
representations of Walter Scott and his
friends. or Washington Irving with his
associates; but all those engravings will
fade out, while through everlasting ages,
, hanging luminous and conspicuous, will
be the pictures of you and your Christian
guests.
You see we have passed out from the
trials into the rewards of Christian hos
pitalty; grand, glorious and eternal.
The first reward of Christian hospitality
is the divine benedction. When any one
attends to this duty, Gods blessing comes
upon him, upon his companion, upon his
children, upon his dining hall, upon his
parlor, upon his nursery. The blessing
comes in at the front door, and the back
door, and down through the skylights.
God draws long mark of credit for ser.
vices received. Christ said to his disciples
"He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and
he that giveth cup of cold water in the
name of disciple shall in no wise lose
his reward" AS we have had SO many
things recorded against us in heaven, it
will be satisfaction to have written on
unfailing archives the fact that in the
month of May, or June, or September, or
December. 1887, we made the blissful
mistake of supposing that we were enter
tanning weak men like ourselves, when
10! they showed their pinions before they
left, and we found out that they were
angels unawares.
Another reward comes in the good
wishes and prayers of our guests. l do
not think ones house ever gets over
having had good man or woman abide
there. George Whitefield used to scratch
on the window of the room where he was
entertained passage of Scripture, and in
one case after he left, the whole house.
hold was converted by the reading of that
passage on the window pane. The
woman of Shunem furnished little
room over the wall for Elisha, and all the
ages have heard the glorious consequences.
On cold, stormy winter night my
father entertained Trueman Osborne, the
evangelist, and through all eternity will
thank God that Truelnan Osborne stopped
at our house. How many of our guests
have brought for us coincidence and SYM
pathy and help! There is legend told
of st. Sebald, that in his Christian rounds
he used to stop for entertainment at the
house of a poor cartwright. Coming
there one day, he found the cartwright
and his family freezing for the lack of
any fuel. st. Sebald ordered the man
to 60 and break the icicles from the side
of the house and bring them in, and the
icicles were brought into the house and
thrown on the hearth, and they began to
blaze Immediately, and the freezing fam
lily gathered around and We're warmed
by them. That was a legend; but how
often have our guests come in to gather
up the cold, freezing sorrows of our life,
kindling them into illumination and
warmth and good cheer. He who opens
his house to Christian hospitality turns
those who are strangers into friends.
Years will go by and there will be great
changes in you, and there will be great
change in them. Some day you will be
sitting in loneliness, watching bereave-
ment, and you will get letter in a
strange handwriting, and you will look
at the postoffice mark and say: "Why,
don't know anybody living in that |
city," and you will break the envelope,
and there you will read the story of |
thanks for your Christian generosity |
long years before, and how they |
have heard afar off of your trouble. And |
the letter will be so full of kindly remi-
niscences and Christian coincidence it will
be plaster large enough to cover up all
the deep gashes of your soul. When we
take people into our houses as Christian
guests, we take them into our sympathies
Tn
with a sword at his side stopped at
house, desiring lodging and shelter. The
woman of the house at first refused adj
saying that the men of the
house were not at home; but when he
showed his credentials that he had been
honorably discharged from the army, he
was admitted and tarried during the night.
In the night time there was knocking
at the front door, and two ruffians broke
in to despoil that household. No sooner
had they come over the doorsill than the
armed guest, who had primed his piece
and charged it with slugs, met them, and
telling the woman to stand back, am
happy to say, dropped the two assaulting
dead at his feet. Well, now
here are no bandits prowling around to
IcStIOy our houses; OUT now often 1t is |
hat we find those that have been our
guests become our defenders. We gave
hem shelter first, and then afterwards in
he great conflicts of life they fought for
our reputation, they fought for our prop
,rty they fought for our soul.
Another reward that comes from Chris
ian hospitality is in the assurance that
We shall have hospitality shown to us and
o ours. In the upturnings of this life
who knows in what city or what land we
nay be thrown, and how much we may /
iced an open door? There may come no
uch crisis to us, but our children may
Ne thrown into some such strait. He t
Who is in a Christian manner hospitahle |
las free pass through all Christendom. i
t may be that you will have been dead '
fifty years before any such stress shall I
'ome upon one of your descendants; but a
10 you not suppose that God can remem- l
,er fifty years? and the knuckle of the
,randchild will be heard against the
loor of some stranger, and that door will